Zoe Lewis, who was once stuck in a demoralising yo-yo dieting cycle, has changed her life and body, losing a whopping 42 kg in more than a year. Weighing a high of 107 kg, the current 23-year-old fitness influencer eschewed temporary fads for a long-term lifestyle transformation, demonstrating that permanent weight loss is possible through persistent, healthy routines. Sharing her journey with nearly 40,000 TikTok followers, Lewis aims to empower others to embrace a more balanced and effective approach to fitness and well-being.
The moment when everything had changed
“I have always been an overweight person, with my weight fluctuating between 85-100 kg most of my adult life,” the Gold Coast woman told news.com.au.
“I was following fad diets and workout plans which would bring me down to a lower weight, and as soon as I stopped them, I’d jump right back up to 90-100 kg.
Photo Credit: TikTok/@fitnesswithzoe
“I hated the way I felt and looked, and I wanted to be better for myself. So the day I hit 107 kg, I decided to quit the fads and begin my 14-month weight loss journey to 65 kg.”
Despite being at her heaviest, Ms Lewis said she was still fit in some ways and attended circuit training gyms, albeit inconsistently.
However, she believed the main issue was that she didn’t consider herself to be an inherently “active” person.
Learning new things and forming healthy routines
“I never found a routine that worked. I would make it to the end of a six-week challenge, then go right back to old habits,” she explained.
“I never walked and would instead take the opportunity to lie in bed when I had free time.
“My diet was atrocious and consisted mostly of take-out, easy-made meals from the grocery store and sweets, and I never found myself cooking. I barely had vegetables, and my gut health was incredibly bad.”
Unlike her past attempts, when Ms Lewis became serious about losing the weight, she made sure to really educate herself, ensuring her diet wasn’t restrictive and she had proper knowledge about how food worked in the body.
“I learnt why protein, fats, and carbohydrates are important and why walking and strength training were the best ways to lose weight,” she said.
“I continually adjusted my diet and routine throughout the process to ensure I continued to lose weight healthily.”
